The Famous Alcatraz Island Night Tour in San Francisco (2024)
Want to know what it’s like to go on the Alcatraz Island Night Tour? We’ve got you covered with everything we experienced on our tour!
One of the top tourist attractions in San Francisco is definitely Alcatraz Island!
There are several ways to experience Alcatraz.
Most people just take a bay cruise around the island, but never actually step foot on the island or inside the prison.
What I highly recommend instead is the Alcatraz Island Night Tour.
Check out our full tour in this video on our YouTube Channel.
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The Famous Alcatraz Island Night Tour
This tour includes a round trip ferry to and from the island, a guided tour leading to the prison, a self guided audio tour once inside the prison, multiple night programs that change daily, and access to other areas of the prison.
Small Group Guided Tour On Alcatraz Island
When you first arrive on the island, everyone will be broken up into smaller groups.
I want to say on our tour there were maybe 300-400 people on the ferry, so they took groups of about 100 at a time.
It happens very seamlessly though as everyone gets off the ferry.
At this point, there is a National Park Service guide going over the history of the island and talking about everything not in the prison.
The tour slowly makes its way up to the prison entrance.
It’s a pretty steep hill up to the prison, so keep that in mind when deciding what shoes to wear and deciding on your physical capabilities.
They do offer a tram for those who cannot make the walk up that hill.
But it’s only for those individuals, other members of their party still have to walk up because there is limited space.
This part of the tour takes you through the town where the wives and children of some of the prison guards lived.
You will also see the water tower, the morgue, and a view of the city.
From there, everyone enters the prison in more or less a single file line.
This line is to get your audio set for the rest of the tour inside the prison.
Self-Guided Alcatraz Audio Tour
The first area of the prison you see is the processing center for new inmates.
You see where they were stripped of all their clothing and belongings, issued their prison clothes and some personal items.
Then they have the open showers.
From there, you’re given an audio headset and you head up a narrow staircase.
The audio headset you can pause as you go and take the tour at your own pace.
It tells you exactly where to walk, what to look at, and the story of whatever area of the prison you’re in.
It’s very efficient and is honestly the best way to get 400 people through the tour at one time.
Some of the highlights of this portion include roaming the various cell blocks, seeing re-created prison cells that accurately portray what all was usually included, and also seeing the solitary confinement cells.
The solitary confinement area was interesting because they were also deprived of all light.
You can also go inside a couple of the cells to take photos of yourself locked inside.
During our visit masks were still mandatory for National Park and ferry related activities.
The tour eventually ends in the dining hall where you return the headset.
From there, the night moves on to various night programs of your choosing.
Alcatraz Night Programs
Each night, they offer several ranger talks on different themes relevant to Alcatraz.
It’s not possible to visit all of them, but you can definitely do at least one or two.
Some are highly recommended for adults only, so if you have children with you, it might help narrow down your options.
In addition to the ranger talks, they also open up other areas of Alcatraz that you can freely explore.
During our visit we went up to the hospital, the offices, and the backside of the island that overlooks all of San Francisco.
For our ranger talk we went to “Murder on the Rock“.
D Block is the area of Alcatraz where they have the isolation rooms.
Inmates would be locked in these cells for days at a time with no light and no outside interaction.
This talk mostly covered mental health in the prison system.
They talked about specific inmate stories from Alcatraz and how the prison system has traditionally viewed and treated mental health.
This led into thought questions about what prisons could or should be doing instead such as a rehabilitation focus.
What I liked about this ranger talk is that they didn’t push any specific views on the audience.
It was more so presenting various view points about what is being talked about today with prison reform and asking the audience to think for themselves what should happen in the future.
Because when dealing with real people, there is never a one size fits all solution for everybody.
Hospital and Offices Self Guided Tour
After we did the ranger talk, we decided to spend the rest of our time exploring other areas of Alcatraz.
For this portion of the tour, they opened up the hospital and the offices.
This area definitely looked like it could be a haunted house.
From the offices, there’s a door that leads outside where you get a great view of the city.
City Views From The Alcatraz Island Night Tour
It looks a million times better in person (and even in the YouTube video at the beginning of this post), but here are some photos of the view you have from Alcatraz.
It was a dark, stormy, and windy night while we were there, which you can tell by the thick clouds in the left photo.
This is a cool photo op spot if you’re good with night time photography.
Getting To Alcatraz: Know Before You Go
First things first, you have to get there.
The ferry departs from Pier 33, which is just a couple blocks up from the more famous Pier 39.
In the winter, this tour departs at 4 pm, so you’ll want to arrive by 3:30 pm.
The rest of the year the tour will depart at 5:55 pm or 6:30 pm.
So you’ll still arrive at least 30 minutes prior.
There isn’t any formal parking place for this tour, so you’ll have to find a lot or garage that allows more than a few hours for parking.
You can also walk, take public transportation, or be dropped off by a taxi or other rideshare.
The free 2 hour parking nearby will not work since the tour lasts longer than 2 hours.
To board the ferry, you’ll just need a digital or printed boarding pass for each person that is booked on the tour.
Once onboard, you can roam the ferry as you please.
Keep in mind it is usually very cold in San Francisco and especially breezy on the water.
So you’ll want to dress warm and maybe pick a seat inside for the majority of your ferry ride over.
The ferry ride is less than 30 minutes from embarking to disembarking.
More Fun Things To Do In and Around San Francisco After Your Alcatraz Island Night Tour
San Francisco has so many world renowned attractions that you can’t come here just for the Alcatraz Island Night Tour.
Here are some of our highest recommended things to do in and around San Francisco.
✔ The Walt Disney Family Museum
Did you know there was a Disney museum in San Francisco?
It’s located in The Presidio, with amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The museum walks you through Walt Disney’s childhood, animation years, Disneyland years, family life, and his lasting legacy.
✔ Muir Woods National Monument Easy Half-Day Hiking Itinerary
Muir Woods National Monument is just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
It has an easy loop walking trail that can be done in less than an hour, but it also has several trails that branch off and circle back if you want to stay and explore a little longer.
✔ The Best Attractions To Visit In San Francisco
This is the ultimate guide to all of the best attractions in San Francisco all in one place!
✔ Napa v Sonoma: Which Is Better To Visit?
Sonoma and Napa are part of Northern California’s wine country and are within a couple hour’s drive of San Francisco.
It makes a great day trip to get out of the city for a bit.
✔ Best Things To Do In Calistoga
Calistoga is a small town in Northern California’s wine country with lots of wineries and a historic downtown that’s great for dining and shopping.
✔ Napa Wine Tasting Day Trip
Napa Valley is home to some of the best wineries in the world.
We love the extravagance here with European looking castles that transport you into a completely new world.
✔ California’s Great America Theme Park
California’s Great America is a classic theme park part of the Cedar Fair family (think Cedar Point, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Kings Island).
It’s only about an hour away and makes for a great day trip from San Francisco.
Where To Eat Before Your Alcatraz Island Night Tour
When you think of San Francisco, it’s hard to think of just one cuisine.
There’s clam chowder in bread bowls, Chinese food from Chinatown, and the best Italian food on Columbus Ave.
✔ The Ultimate San Francisco Food And Drink Guide
This guide has all the best restaurants covering the variety of cuisines listed above.
✔ Best Restaurants In San Francisco With A View
From bay views to city views, there are a ton of great restaurants that are known for more than just their food.
Where to Stay in San Francisco After Your Alcatraz Island Night Tour
Below is a room tour of the standard king room at Club Quarters San Francisco, which is where we stayed during our week-long visit to San Francisco.
Click the link above to read our full review of our experience at this centrally located hotel.
You can watch the full walkthrough tour of our room in this video on our YouTube Channel.
Click Here To Book Your Stay At Club Quarters San Francisco Today!
Conclusion: The Famous Alcatraz Island Night Tour
The Alcatraz Island Night Tour is a once in a lifetime type of experience in San Francisco that I highly recommend.
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